Martin Mulder

How to educate in a changing world? Towards competence-based tertiary agricultural education

Authors: Arjen Wals, Martin Mulder and Natalia Eernstmann, Education & Competence Studies, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands

http://knowledge.cta.int/Dossiers/S-T-Policy/Reshaping-tertiary-agricultural-education/Feature-articles/How-to-educate-in-a-changing-world-Towards-competence-based-tertiary-agricultural-education

Continue reading Just published: How to educate in a changing world?

Last week ECS received the Midterm Research Review Report of the International Advisory Board of the Wageningen Graduate School of Social Sciences. Staff of ECS was very pleased to read:

• The level of achievements in 2009 was assessed as very good, and since then the group has made remarkable progress in research.
• The group’s productivity has continued to be strong in all areas of action, and the earning capacity is good.
• To select competences as key interest and research target will guarantee the further development.
• Strategic and visionary planning, high developed communication and successful networking establish a combination to strengthen the group.
• The group has all the capacity to make the future they want, and to reach outstanding results.

We were expecting a very good review result since the global Citation Impact and the global Relative Impact of ECS publications fall in the top 2.5% of the population of competing groups in the social sciences worldwide. Nevertheless, it is rewarding to receive a positive Research Review Report like this.

 

On February 4 ECS staff convened to speak about education and research matters.
Continue reading Impressions of ECS education and research meeting 04 February 2013

The course on Competence-Based Curriculum Development in Nuffic project 126 in Kenya, which took place on January 30 and 31, 2013, was successfully implemented. Representatives of KARI, FPEAK, JKUAT and Africa React actively participated in the two-day programme. Trainers were Renate Wesselink, Hansje Eppink and myself. In total 10 participants received a certificate of successful completion. See pictures for an impression. Interested in a course on Competence-Based Curriculum Development? Constact us.

Continue reading Course on Competence-Based Curriculum Development in Kenya successfully implemented

Europea Netherlands exists 20 years. To celebrate that an international conference will be organized in Wageningen on April 17, 2013. Europea is the European Association of Agricultural Educators and is chaired by Mr Ton Stok. Secretay is Mrs Evelien Kist. Further information can be obtained from A. Stok, (a.stok@wellant.nl). The theme of the conference is: International focus on the region. Topics will be regional development in Europe, alignment of green education and top sectors and the position of the Netherlands in Europe.

On January 11, 2013, Omid Noroozi successfully defended his dissertation ‘Fostering Argumentation-Based Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning in Higher Education’. The promotion committee decided to grant Omid the distinction ‘Cum Laude’, which is very special, because only 3% of all PhD candidates of Wageningen University get this disctinction. Congratulations Omid.

Continue reading Omid Noroozi Doctor Cum Laude

In an earlier post I reported about my visit to the former Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada in April 2012. It told that the premises is now being used by first nations (‘Indians’ as they were called in the Western ‘culture’) for various purposes.

Continue reading Visit to Kamloops revisited

On October 8-10, 2012, the WBREN project partners met in Wageningen. ECS hosted the meeting. The basic purpose of the meeting was to get the group of partners acquainted with rural development and the place of education and training in that in the Netherlands. The group reported good progress with the project, but a lot still had to be done. We are fortunate that the EU granted and extension of the project of one year. I am a bit late with this post. But here it is, pictures included.

Continue reading WBREN meeting October 2012 Wageningen

The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension (JAEE) was analyzed by bibliometricians for possible submission to Thomson and Reuters for inclusion in the Social Science Citation Index. The ‘mock’ 2011 Impact Factor is 0,55, which is just below the middle of the journal list in the field of Education and Educational Research, thus being a Q3 journal. We will wait until this Impact Factor is a bit higher so that the JAEE will be a Q2 journal. This will probably take a year. Then we will resubmit the journal.

Continue reading Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension

The article of Alake-Tuenter, E.; Biemans, H. J. A.; Tobi, H.; Wals, A.E.J., Oosterheert, I. & Mulder, M. (2012).  Inquiry-Based Science Education Competencies of Primary School Teachers: A literature study and critical review of the American National Science Education Standards. International journal of science education, 34, 17, pp. 2609-2640 is now printed and published. For the abstract go to http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09500693.2012.669076?prevSearch=alake&searchHistoryKey=